New visitors to Boston

Three of us ladies will be flying to Boston for the first time May 20-25. We are considering staying in Saugus (better rates) and taking the ';T'; into town since the hotel will take us to the station. We of course, want to see as much as possible in the 4 days we have for sightseeing - JFK Library, Freedom Trail, etc. Possibly rent a car and go to Cape Cod or possibly take a tour that way. Any suggestions?

New visitors to Boston

Personally, I wouldn%26#39;t do it.

There is no T in Saugus, buses are somewhat limited and taxis are %26#39;call ahead%26#39; only ... you don%26#39;t just hail a cab like in the city. Unless you plan to rent a car for your stay in Saugus and drive to a T station each morning to head into the city like a daily commuter, I wouldn%26#39;t recommend it.

If you do have a car and plan to depart from your hotel between 7am and 9am, expect a LOT of traffic heading to the city and ditto for returning to your hotel between 4:30 and 6:30.

If you are looking for lower cost lodging consider these options: downtown check out Holiday Inn Government Center, Holiday Inn Select on Friend Street, Harborside Inn and the John Jeffries House. Outside of the city, think about the Quincy Marriott (right near the T%26#39;s red line) and the Suburban Extended Stay in Winthrop, with a public bus right outside the door that goes to a T station (although, late at night this bus doesn%26#39;t run very frequently).

Happy planning!

New visitors to Boston

Many people who aren%26#39;t familiar with Boston end up in Saugus or Woburn or one of the other suburbs because of the prices, only to find they are stuck WAY outside the city with no convenient access into town.

Distances here are deceiving. Saugus appears to be only a few miles outside Boston, but it can take an hour to drive into town during rush hour, and the only ';T'; access is an infrequent commuter rail. The commuter rail, unlike the T which runs every 10 minutes or so, is on a set schedule. Many times during the day, the commuter rail trains are spaced an hour apart. If you miss your train, you%26#39;re waiting an hour for the next one.

Moreover, Saugus is simply not a pleasant or pedestrian-friendly place to stay. Without a car, you%26#39;re essentially stuck in your room because the only way to get around is the extremely busy Route 1 highway.

If you are determined to stay in Saugus, which I don%26#39;t recommend, then at least be sure to check the commuter rail schedules so you know what you%26#39;re getting into. Here%26#39;s the info for the Haverill commuter line, which is probably what you%26#39;d be taking.

www.mbta.com/schedules_and_maps/rail/lines/鈥?/a>

Agree with previous posts. Also, check out Brookline - Marriott. Easy access to the green line which will you bring you right downtown.

There%26#39;s no commuter rail in Saugus, the closest is the next town, Melrose. And again, very few options for getting there.

Have you ever been to Orlando Florida? Rte 1 is kind of like International Drive. A divided highway, 2 lanes each direction w/ lots of stores, restaurants, hotels, but no easy way to get from one to the next and we have ';rush hour'; that slows things to a complete crawl. I happened to drive from Boston to Saugus on Friday. I left at 4:50 and the place I wsa trying to go to closed at 6. I didn%26#39;t make it ... there was an accident that slowed things to a complete crawl.

I agree Saugus not a good location.

another aspect to consider is that the T service is going to be cut due to the State budget.

As far as going to the Cape, I would advise not going on Friday on because of the traffic.

Of course I would also advise skipping the Cape entirely

Hi,

I agree with previous posters - I would pay a bit more and stay IN Boston or at least nearby a T station so you don%26#39;t have to rely on the hotel. If you want to head back to the hotel to drop off your stuff (in case you do some shopping...) or just to rest your feet from all the walking before you go out to dinner, it won%26#39;t really be an option as it will be too much work getting back and forth.

That being said, once you get here. I would start with a sightseeing tour. Either a duck tour or a trolley tour. The advantate of the trolley tour is that it is hop on/hop off while the duck tour (which is really fun!) is on the %26#39;duck%26#39; for the tour which I think is 90 minutes.

You will want to walk around Beacon Hill and maybe have lunch. There is a great tour in the North End, North End market tour (in case you are interested in food and the history of our Italian neighborhood).

As for the Cape, since you have limited time I would maybe suggest going to Rockport, Marblehead or one of those towns closer to Boston instead of the Cape.

If you tell us a bit more more what you are interested in, we can give you more tips!

Enjoy!

Gisela

www.lovebostonwithme.com (has some tips)

Thank you so much for your advice. We really want to make the most of this our first trip to Boston.